Highland Wild Walks

05/04/2025

Great start to the 2025 season with a walk with these fab ladies up Bynack Mor in the sunshine. Everyone was happy to "refresh" their feet in the burn on the way down, before tea and homemade cake back at the van (once again I forgot to take a photo 🤦)

Some great walks coming up at the end of April/start of May... check out the website www.highlandwildwalks.uk for more information

02/04/2025

**upcoming walk**

Saturday 5/4/25, Bynack Mor in the Cairngorms

This walk approaches the hill past An Lochan Uaine (green loch), and then follows a great path up onto a long broad ridge before a wee steep section to the summit which has amazing rocky outcrops, very typical of Eastern Cairngorms summits. It's a long (14miles) but fairly easy walk. 3 places remaining.
Get in touch if you want to join me in the ☀️🌞

01/04/2025

I often hear "I'd love to go hillwalking but I'm not fit enough". Well, the best way to get fit for an activity is to do it! Start with gentle walks like this one on Friday, when we will take lots of time looking at the plants /view (aka catching our breath). And remember, walking is not a competitive sport. If you are at the back of the group, you aren't holding anyone up, it just gives us more time to look around us.
Get in touch if you want to come along.
www.highlandwildwalks.uk

29/03/2025

In a change from the planned walk for this Friday 4/4/25, I've modified the route to make it MUCH nicer! We will head up from outside Golspie through some lovely wood and moor to visit some summer sheilings and then just up a few more metres to a wee summit with amazing views. The route from there depends on how adventurous the group is feeling.....one possible descent route involves doing a wee limbo, fortunately the water is only 1-2 cm deep 🫣. Or we can just return the same way.
Either way, it is 10-11km, 6 to 6.5 miles, with gentle ascent. Suitable for those of us who are not so fit after the winter, taken at a very slow and steady pace

Want to join me? Get in touch via http://www.highlandwildwalks.uk/

26/03/2025

Do you want to free yourself from following other people's routes on your phone. Want the freedom to plan your own routes and feel confident in the hills? Come and learn to navigate with Alison at Highland Wild Walks.
🗺️💪🌄🗾

25/03/2025

Good advice

https://www.facebook.com/100064631594436/posts/1150436033787439/?mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v

25/03/2025

My walking group enjoyed the sense of spring today as we walked and chatted our way around the Ness Islands, stopping here to watch the impressive casting of a fisherman. It may be a controversial installation, but we all agreed we loved the sense of being out over the water.

08/03/2025

A long read, but really interesting if you have any interest in raptors.

a comprehensive update from WildLand's raptor monitoring initiative

04/03/2025

One rule for the rich...😡

On 27th February I was sent this photo of muirburn on King Charles’ estate of Delnadamph, which has no deer and is managed intensively for grouse shooting (see here). The reader commented it was very windy that day, as is evident from the near horizontal plume of smoke. That was confirmed by the f...

03/03/2025

Great news!

The area of land near Ullapool, in the north west Highlands, is larger than the city of Dundee.

18/02/2025

These walks looking at the Gaelic landscape looks super...I've signed up for the one on Seana Bhràigh. Anyone coming with me?

https://www.facebook.com/61568298646584/posts/122120650286609954/?app=fbl

Guided Hillwalking in Sutherland’s Gaelic Landscape

Gaelic in Sutherland is looking to gauge interest in guided hill walks, exploring Sutherland’s vast mountain landscapes with experienced Gaelic speaking guide, Ross Christie.
We are hoping to host two guided walks on Saturday the 17th and Sunday the 18th May.
On Saturday the 17th of May, we hope to head up the Munro Seana Bhràigh (The Old Brae) – a decent day’s hillwalking for those with a good level of fitness and/or previous hillwalking experience. Throughout the day, we will explore the Gaelic placenames of the hills and moorland around us, as well as getting to know the Gaelic names and stories behind the flora and fauna that we see. The cost per person for this guided day will be £30.
On Sunday the 19th of May, we will be heading up a smaller hill that will be accessible to most ages and abilities – some options are Beinn Dòmhnaill, Beinn Bhragaidh & Beinn Lunndaidh, Col Bheinn, or even Stac Pollaidh. This will be another opportunity to explore the Gaelic place names, plant names, animal names and histories of the land around us. The cost per person for this guided day will be £15.
Although May is often a very reliable month for weather, these walks will be subject to the prevailing conditions, with the possibility of cancellation or postponement due to strong winds or overly wet conditions.
Participants will need to bring the following;
- Sturdy walking boots
- A rucksack
- A bottle of water
- Plenty lunch! Inc. sweet snacks
- Waterproof Jacket
- Waterproof overtrousers
- Warm layers (fleeces etc)
- Hats & Gloves
- Personal medication

Very grateful to Ross for agreeing to come north and provide a weekend of guided walking at such a low cost. His passion for the Gaelic landscape is very evident and it would be great if we can get enough folk for this to go ahead.

Please let me know if you’d be interested in attending either or both days by commenting below or sending a personal message.

Mòran taing!

📷 Walk Highlands

27/01/2025

New for 2025, Slow and Steady walks - these walks are great if you are trying to get fit, and want to explore the outdoors - we take the day at a very gentle pace with plenty of breaks. Have a look on the website http://www.highlandwildwalks.uk/ for more information.

Alison and Ken Clarke are qualified Mountain Leaders offering guided high and low level walks across the Highlands of Scotland for new and experienced walkers. ​ Based near Invergordon, the North...

21/01/2025

https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/21/science/magnetic-north-pole-new-position/index.html

The difference between true North, magnetic North, and grid North...not something we have had to worry about in the UK for quite some time...but in the not too distant future we will need to make corrections again 😭

Your navigation system just got a critical update, one that happens periodically because Earth’s magnetic north pole keeps moving. Here’s what to know.

14/01/2025

An interesting post from parkswatch, making points about woodland / forest regeneration....

A few days ago Lesley Riddoch posted some excellent drone footage from Lettoch Films (see here) of the woodland that has developed in the central reservation of the A9 between Bruar and Drumochter. Most of the trees and other plants have spread there through natural regeneration and were able to do....

05/01/2025

We offer a variety of walks all over the Highlands. Below are a selection of our more popular walks but we are happy to plan a walk to meet your needs. We have a programme of scheduled walks for...

04/01/2025

Walk dates and navigation training dates for April to July 2025 now up on the website. Dates to October to follow soon.

We offer a variety of walks all over the Highlands. Below are a selection of our more popular walks but we are happy to plan a walk to meet your needs. We have a programme of scheduled walks for...

28/12/2024

I think folk sometimes think I am quite annoying when I chirp on about how important it is not to depend on phones for navigation, but today was a good example. This has only happened to me once before, but gave me the heebie-jeebies!
The red dotted line is our approximate route today (ignore the big red line, that was a mistake in the marking up I didn't notice till I had finished 😆). The other screenshots were all the places my phone was telling me I was during the walk... everywhere from Inverness to Bonar Bridge.
Now, imagine you had just downloaded a route to your phone, didn't have much clue about map reading, and that happened. Or even worse, you got up into the sort of visibility we had (or actually, didn't have!) on the tops and then it happened.
Folks, if you are going into the hills, learn to navigate, and always have an old fashioned non digital system with you. You probably won't need it, but when you do, boy will you be glad you've got it.

28/12/2024

A decent outing for the time of year...Meal Mor between Loch Glass and Loch Morie. A hill for the connoisseur of peat hags. See next post on why depending on your phone for navigation can be problematic.